Comme des Garcons Series 3 Incense: Ouarzazate

I've been eager to review this one because I remember it being different enough from the other four to treat it like its own entity. The first time I tried it, it was like no other fragrance I'd ever experienced, like ethereal jasmine on top of wood. It's very tea-like and otherworldly right from the start...the top notes are a quiet, moderately sweet blend of flowery black tea and nicely grained wood, but not resinous, exotic wood. It's very simple, but in a comforting way, not a harsh or minimalist way. I see an image of plainly finished but contemporary furniture and sleek tableware in an elegant home, and they're made of solid conventional wood, with a non-edgy, semi-asian-inspired design. The scent has just a hint of something that reminds me of C. Howard's violet candies, but not enough to bother me like some violet notes. I only start to notice the jasmine (lotus?) in the residue on the tip of my nose after sniffing my sample. It's there, not as strong as I remember, but getting stronger throughout the mid notes. Oddly enough, the wood actually seems to fade out and the florals to fade in. I'm not sure if you could officially call it a masculine floral, but after trying so many of those that I didn't like, this is really something that I could get lost in and also wear comfortably in the real world. I kind of wish it were stronger for how expensive it is, but the translucency, balance and restraint are just outstanding; it can't possibly be so simple and yet so perfect.

Mmm... I've had this one for 3 months now and it's becoming harder and harder to choose it for any occasion... it's got certain interesting moments which last for many hours but zero projection and the worst part for me is its herbal vibe. Herbal as in a thick chicken with bitter herbs all around and guaiac wood so loud... I sound contradictory : Is it a strong or soft perfume? well... you barely notice it but when you smell it from very close, it's chicken and herbs. Perhaps my being vegetarian doesn't help to enjoy this fully, lol... but it's so annoying when you have to apply half a bottle to get a hint of a perfume... and even worse when the actual smell borders on bitter food. It could be a great male scent if they took that part away... and it's quite unpredictable when applied to women. Sometimes it gives them a certain allure I would at least try in case you girls were tired of sickly sweet and floral perfumes. A very bad start for CDG Incense series in my Carestinian life... I'll check the other ones and comment on them. I didn't even feel this as an incense anyway... disappointing.

la serie 3 di CDG ha proposto negli anni variazioni sul tema dell'incenso, come nota comune di esperienze spirituali assai diverse (cattolicesimo, induismo, islamismo etc etc). questo che provo oggi, ispirato all'islam, è piuttosto diverso da quanto mi aspettavo. benchè centrato sul franchincenso, questo piccolo delizioso esercizio di stile, è poco invasivo: pur restituendo le impressioni di un magreb fatto di te alla menta, spezie e resine, ci riesce in maniera poco orientale. l'impressione è elegante, quasi si trattasse di un soffio leggero di brezza mediterranea, e si dipana attraverso sensazioni mai prepotenti. come già detto si rintracciano note di menta, legni, spezie e resine, nessuna in particolare, tutte a mostrarci un pomeriggio passato in un giardino con alberi di limone. molto buono, evocativo, peccato che sia davvero troppo leggero.

I love this one and is my favorite of the series. Mostly I smell fresh, cool, peppered woods mingling with an herbal greenness, some frankincense and some labdanum and a touch of vanilla in the base giving it a bit of sweetness in the drydown. I register this scent more as a "woods" than an "incense". And of the outdoorsy variety. It's a fairly quiet scent and lasts longer over a little body oil. Also great for layering with a rose or amber perfume/oil. I wore it layered over Aftelier's Ancient Resins body oil tonight to a meditation group and it wafted softly around me while still being unobtrusive and was super calming and uplifting for me. I will add that I've gotten more compliments on this scent than probably any other that I wear.

This is a lot like 2 Man minus the prominent frankincense note plus oranges and spices. Ok, this is put very simply, but the difference between this and 2 Man is just way too small, i blind bought this and i own both this and 2 Man and there is really no need to have them both since they are very much alike. If i had to choose between this and 2 Man it would be the latter though, this is more fresh while 2 Man is darker and paradoxically more incense like then Ouarzazate. Scent: 9/10 great, gentle, soft, versatile. Originality: 2/10, 2 Man is basically the same with few different elements. The sillage is not good though, it fades away from strong and very in your face to almost a skin scent in less than one hour.